Glad to see all this research going into self-driving cars, but I still think we're WAY off from actually seeing them available for regular drivers on real roads. Probably another 15 years at least.
Easily 15 years. Liability laws and various traffic- and driving-related regulations have to be changed first, one state at a time. I also think that every taxi driver union (including Uber drivers, who will likely have unionized by then) will do everything possible to delay these laws from passing.
Designating roads (or sections of roads) for self driving vehicles only, might be a way entice cities and states to welcome these cars. It would also be a way to expose people to the vehicles and what they can do without raising too many objections. Sort of like HOV lanes etc.
ConnectDrive is so poor and without periodically updates that using my iPhone with BMW 5 series is a big frustration....
They could add more apps to be used with ConnectDrive dashboard (AppleMusic, Waze, etc) but nothing happend. BMW in XXI century? Nop.....
I'd be happy for BMW's infotainment system to be based on Apple's (like Porsche) and only as far as that. BMs dashes are are great and look at. Also, see what BMW have with the Mini - customisation and orientation to a market segment that is not their main stay. Loves their HUDs, too.
Having owned over 25 BMW's since 1980 Apple has nothing to worry about. BMW has the absolute lousiest electronics around. Just try their navigation system and you will understand why I use the TomTom app on my iPhone instead. BMW makes a great car but it is for driving.
BMW apparently plans to have half of its R&D team be computer programmers within the next five years. Currently, just 20 percent of its 30,000 R&D employees work in software.
Froehlich said BMW won't be able to hire all of those employees in-house, requiring the company to partner with others and outsource some of the work.
“People who are really serious about hardware should make their own software.”
And then what, have a multitude of incompatible ecosystems?
Easily 15 years. Liability laws and various traffic- and driving-related regulations have to be changed first, one state at a time. I also think that every taxi driver union (including Uber drivers, who will likely have unionized by then) will do everything possible to delay these laws from passing.
Designating roads (or sections of roads) for self driving vehicles only, might be a way entice cities and states to welcome these cars. It would also be a way to expose people to the vehicles and what they can do without raising too many objections. Sort of like HOV lanes etc.
HOV lanes don't exist in a vacuum. You have to get there, and get from there. I can see the possibility of some sort of 'hybrid' solution (driver controlled plus limited self-driving) arriving a little earlier than 15 years, but even that is probably a decade away.
They still haven’t built the space elevator you know. Or returned to the moon. Nice delusion, especially the part about insurance companies going out of business.
Why not. If the accident rate drops by 90-99% as some suggest and seems completely reasonable when all cars are auto drive. Most auto insurance companies will go out of business. I see nothing wrong with my scenario. Everything will happen eventually. The only question is how long until it does.
nolamacguy said: seriously. these auto jokers can't even master in-dash UI, how the hell do they expect to master complex machine learning?
The iDrive system is ok but the way it handles music/songs and contacts list could be improved, but even so, in all the infotainment reviews I've read it is usually rated 1 or 2 out of all the other systems. The BMW voice controls are not very good though. Personally I don't like touch screen in the dash so I'm happy to have the jog wheel. The Mercedes center console touch pad is awful. That is where I usually rest my hand and inadvertent touch commands happen often. I do think BMW has done a better job than others with actual real knobs and buttons for common tasks such as radio presets, temp/fan and volume that you can adjust without taking your eyes off the road or drilling down menus. Their computerized integration with other aspects of the auto are top notch in my opinion.
iDrive is better now than it was when it started, which was awful. Several things were moved from menus back to buttons and the balance is now reasonably good.
But the audio system fights with my iPod Classic and locks it up about once a week. It's done that since new (2012) and BMW still says that it's working the way it should. Go figure.
Opinions vary over BMW's iDrive but few people dismiss it; I'm a big fan. The controls are tactile and don't need your eyes; way better than touch screens. Connected Drive via the car's own 3G connection is very capable and there is a variety of services and apps for the car through the in-car App Store (or from the web site ). Examples include live traffic (like Apple or Google maps) integrated in the SatNav along with pictures at your destination (from Streetview). The car will text and E-Mail to and from wherever and there's remote control for some functions from your iPhone. The beauty of the services is that they're integrated in the vehicle so they work even when you can't (as a lone drive) practically or safely use you smart phone. I do agree that their speech input isn't there yet though.
Couple this with their strength in vehicle design/manufacture and their investment in electric cars (the i3 is entirely new, designed from the ground up, with lots of carbon fibre, as an electric vehicle - and it's a hoot to drive) and they have a compelling place amongst the car-makers. Even Apple will have to spend a lot of money to match this.
BMW have an online presentation of their 'Next 100 Years' vision coming on Monday (at 15:00 continental European time). See http://www.next100.bmwgroup.com/
“People who are really serious about hardware should make their own software.”
And then what, have a multitude of incompatible ecosystems?
Obviously we want Apple to make completely proprietary systems, screw compatibility with anyone else, and make lots of money from adapters. But shame on all other companies for making all their proprietary stuff because they are greedy and afraid to compete on equal ground.
And then what, have a multitude of incompatible ecosystems?
Obviously we want Apple to make completely proprietary systems, screw compatibility with anyone else, and make lots of money from adapters. But shame on all other companies for making all their proprietary stuff because they are greedy and afraid to compete on equal ground.
Are you being facetious, or purposely contradictory?
And then what, have a multitude of incompatible ecosystems?
Obviously we want Apple to make completely proprietary systems, screw compatibility with anyone else, and make lots of money from adapters. But shame on all other companies for making all their proprietary stuff because they are greedy and afraid to compete on equal ground.
welcome, new FUD dispenser!
the difference is, when Apple does it the solutions are better. mini USB sucked, Lightning was great. (so much so that USB-C is clearly Lightning inspired).
also, not sure what plane of existence you may be on, but I have no trouble exchanging data and docs between my Mac and typical Windows users.
How is it already too late? When the iPhone came out the smartphone market was small, and even smaller was the tablet market. The same cannot be said about the automobile market. One of the best selling class of cars is the pickup truck. Those people aren't going to suddenly stop buying them to get a car made by Apple.
dasanman69 said: One of the best selling class of cars is the pickup truck. Those people aren't going to suddenly stop buying them to get a car made by Apple.
What if Apple subverts their own trope and makes a pickup truck instead of a car?
Rather, what if they make a skateboard drivetrain and sell swappable bodies for it? They could even have it be do it yourself. There’d be a $20,000 lifty-jack-thing you install in your garage and slide around. Most people don’t have the space needed to store extra bodies, but for those that do…
Obviously we want Apple to make completely proprietary systems, screw compatibility with anyone else, and make lots of money from adapters. But shame on all other companies for making all their proprietary stuff because they are greedy and afraid to compete on equal ground.
Are you being facetious, or purposely contradictory?
.... I do agree that their speech input isn't there yet though.
....BMW have an online presentation of their 'Next 100 Years' vision coming on Monday (at 15:00 continental European time). See http://www.next100.bmwgroup.com/
My typical interaction with BMW's voice commands, over something as simple as "Call home" or "Call my wife": Me: "Call number" (She/It does not understand it any other way). She/It (in what can only be described as a creepy, Zoloft-induced voice): "P.l.e.a.s.e s.a.y t.h.e p.h.o.n.e n.u.m.b.e.r" Me (the same number -- home -- I've called a million times before, but for some reason the darn thing can't recognize my saying "Home" or "My wife"): "123-456-7890" She/It: "1.....2.....3....4....5.....6.....7.....8....9......0, and next?" Me: "Call" 'Nuff said.
Presentation for the "next 100 years"? Oh give me a break. It would be nice if they could get to 2016. Even October 2011.
Glad to see all this research going into self-driving cars, but I still think we're WAY off from actually seeing them available for regular drivers on real roads. Probably another 15 years at least.
Easily 15 years. Liability laws and various traffic- and driving-related regulations have to be changed first, one state at a time. I also think that every taxi driver union (including Uber drivers, who will likely have unionized by then) will do everything possible to delay these laws from passing.
This is the kind of politics motivating creation of http://thegroundwork.com. This organization is essentially an election hackathon with the best in the world at the helm. The tech industry has decided that Clinton will afford them the quickest path to the next revenue stream, and the tech industry will put her in office. Then they can focus on actual lawmakers and start getting them in place. We used to be angry at Big Money for buying elections, but Wall Street and Petroleum lack the tech force multipliers of Apple, Google, and Amazon. My bet is that self driving cars will be legal before we know it, and once the safety is understood to be better, insurance companies will end up lobbying to eliminate human driving altogether.
Comments
I'd be happy for BMW's infotainment system to be based on Apple's (like Porsche) and only as far as that. BMs dashes are are great and look at. Also, see what BMW have with the Mini - customisation and orientation to a market segment that is not their main stay. Loves their HUDs, too.
I see nothing wrong with my scenario. Everything will happen eventually. The only question is how long until it does.
Couple this with their strength in vehicle design/manufacture and their investment in electric cars (the i3 is entirely new, designed from the ground up, with lots of carbon fibre, as an electric vehicle - and it's a hoot to drive) and they have a compelling place amongst the car-makers. Even Apple will have to spend a lot of money to match this.
BMW have an online presentation of their 'Next 100 Years' vision coming on Monday (at 15:00 continental European time). See http://www.next100.bmwgroup.com/
the difference is, when Apple does it the solutions are better. mini USB sucked, Lightning was great. (so much so that USB-C is clearly Lightning inspired).
also, not sure what plane of existence you may be on, but I have no trouble exchanging data and docs between my Mac and typical Windows users.
Me: "Call number" (She/It does not understand it any other way).
She/It (in what can only be described as a creepy, Zoloft-induced voice): "P.l.e.a.s.e s.a.y t.h.e p.h.o.n.e n.u.m.b.e.r"
Me (the same number -- home -- I've called a million times before, but for some reason the darn thing can't recognize my saying "Home" or "My wife"): "123-456-7890"
She/It: "1.....2.....3....4....5.....6.....7.....8....9......0, and next?"
Me: "Call"
'Nuff said.
Presentation for the "next 100 years"? Oh give me a break. It would be nice if they could get to 2016. Even October 2011.
But if you look at trucks versus cars... or trucks versus all non-trucks... trucks don't sell as much as you think.
http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-auto-sales/
And then a black screen: “This is your brain on the Apple Car.” Boom, montage of something that completely redefines ‘car’.